April 25, 2001

The Works of George Picken (1898-1971)Monique Goldstrom Gallery, New YorkApril 27 - May 22, 2001

Monique Goldstrom Gallery presents the work of American painter George Picken (1898-1971).

George Picken was a prominent painter among the American generation that matured between the world wars in the first half of this century. His sensibilities were shaped by urban immigrant realties, World War I and the depression, and his close relationships with friends and colleagues like Stuart Davis, Edward Hopper, Charles Burchfield, John Marin, Philip Evergood, and Kuniyoshi. He also faced the wave of indifference felt by many of these artists as abstract expressionism captured the world's, and the criticsí attention. However, Picken pursued his own artistic vision, even as he experimented with abstraction and color. In his last decade, he returned to figurative work and painted some of his most powerful work. The artist died in 1971 at the age of 73.

George Picken was born in New York city in 1898, the son of a scottish immigrant artist and photographer. He served in World War I with an ambulance corps that saw action at Verdun.

Back in New York, he studied at the Art Students League and married Viola Carton, a young beauty from Yonkers who was said to be one of Reginald Marshís favorite models. The earliest canvases that survive have urban themes and a dark palette, which prompted Stuart Davis to ask him why he was always painting ìdungeonsî. Picken had a difficult time during the depression, supporting a wife and two children, but was employed by the WPA. His murals can still be seen near Albany, at the Fort Edward and Hudson Falls post offices.

George Picken also became well known as a teacher. He taught painting, printmaking and lithography at Cooper Union and Columbia University for over 20 years.

His work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the Newark Museum, the Berkshire Museum, the Ogunquit Museum and numerous other collections.

The exhibition encompasses works from each period of the artistís career.

April 18, 2001

The Print Media Academy of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) was opened in April 2000 and has since established itself as a communication platform for the print and media industry and as a meeting point for visitors from the Rhine-Neckar region and the city of Heidelberg.

The Print Media Academy received over 25,000 visitors in its first year. This figures does not include around 8000 course participants. Heidelberg's product training courses are particularly popular. The Academy offers a total of five modules: management training, product training, Print Manager Advanced Course, training courses for all Heidelberg employees, and seminars, forums and congresses. This event and training center for the graphic arts industry provides existing and prospective customers with the means to obtain practical training in the very latest market requirements.

Illustration: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Heidelberg, Germany

However, the Print Media Academy is more than just a meeting point for the graphic arts industry. It also serves as a point of focus for a whole range of cross-industry forums and congresses. On average, the Print Media Academy hosts an event every second day. It already has bookings well into the start of 2003. The rooms are used for press conferences, industry events, art and culture events, photo shoots and video recordings. By way of example, the Print Media Academy played host to Heidelberg's city tour guides, the Business Managers' Congress organized by the Chamber of Trade and Industry, the Members Association of Heidelberg University, and a "1st Tuesday" meeting by young entrepreneurs.

The company is expecting a further 30.000 visitors by April next year. In addition to a wider choice of subjects for the management training courses, Heidelberg also plans to extend the Print Manager course. Places on the new Winter Semester 2001 can now be booked. Course participants do not require a university or college degree and, upon completion, will receive a Heidelberg certificate instead of an MBA (Master of Business Administration). Detailed information on the courses available at the Print Media Academy is available from www.heidelberg.com.

April 2, 2001

Seventy per cent of agencies and publishers prefer to use a picture search facility other than the internet, according to a new survey.
While use of the web continues to grow, the findings from over 700 picture users show that the majority would rather phone in a picture request or browse through a catalogue or CD-ROM than search online.
The survey found that 77 per cent of design and advertising agencies and book and magazine publishers had used the internet to search for pictures, but only 30 per cent said they preferred to search online. Twenty six per cent said they preferred to telephone with a picture request, a further 26 per cent said they would rather look through a catalogue and 17 per cent favoured using a CD-ROM.

Maria Storey, marketing & communications director of the Science Photo Library, which conducted the customer survey, said: "You can get information from a printed catalogue that you can't get by looking at hundreds of images on a screen. There is a 'feel' to it. Users can flick through a selection and an idea may leap out from the page."
"Although, with an internet search, you can put in keywords related to 'mood' or 'atmosphere', often designers are not looking for something as simple as that. They are looking for a concept or an idea and that may not easily translate into a single keyword."
She said the best approach was to use all the available search methods and provide customers with the greatest degree of choice. The digital era had made it much easier to show customers picture selections before sending them out. It also allowed designers to produce layout designs quickly and easily. And the supply of high-resolution digital files has also speeded up the efficiency of the production process.

The survey also provided some positive feedback about SPL. Ninety-eight per cent ranked SPL's range of pictures highly, with 50 per cent finding it excellent and 48 per cent rating it good. On picture quality, the survey found 98 per cent were more than happy - 75 per cent thought it was excellent and 23 per cent said it was good. The research service was also given a boost by customers in the results. Fifty per cent rated it excellent and a further 42 per cent thought it was good.
Comments from users were also favourable.

Jade Sienkiewicz, formerly of Wickens Tutt Southgate advertising said: "The range of subjects for more specific topics was very good - they do not fall into the usual typical photos of most other photo libraries." David Caunce, of the design company Imagine, said: "We used SPL in our work for 'Expo 2000' earlier this year. We were very impressed with the quality of both the images and service." The National Lottery Charities Board's Mark Merryfield, also commented that he was "very impressed with quality of photos and helpful service of staff".
Maria Storey, said: "The results of the survey are very good news. Our photographers are long-standing professionals who continually strive to achieve high-quality, exciting images. All our researchers are science graduates, and providing clients with detailed captions is a strong feature of our service."The Science Photo Library is the world's leading photo agency specialising in science, medicine and technology, with over 130,000 images in its collection. Independent, privately owned and the only one of its kind in Britain, SPL is renowned for its high quality picture bank, created by photographers, illustrators, scientists and medical specialists.